Time's Scar
by Kirishtu
Summary: When Edward and Alphonse Elric are instructed to investigate a series of murders, they become involved in a mystery that gives them more questions than answers. Time is not always a straight, defined line.
1. Chapter 1

**One**

_"Al! Alphonse!"_

_"Brother! Ed! Edward! Help me!"_

_"Al!? ALPHONSE!"_

_"EDWARD! Help me! Help!"_

_Fingers barely brushed against each other, nightmarish black hands closing around a young, fragile neck and squeezing. Blood, blood raining down, blood staining in a puddle that shone white, blood everywhere._

_And there wasn't anything he could do about it._

He snapped awake, panting harshly. That nightmare, again, the third time in the week since he'd arrived. Sweat beaded on his forehead, chilling his skin as the night breeze drifted over him. He slowly pushed himself up, the blankets sliding away from a scarred chest, down a flat, toned stomach, pooling at his hips. He lifted his right hand to his face, froze, then dropped his right hand in favor of the left. The fleshy palm swiped over his forehead, taking away the sweat as it passed. Flesh was better than the metal. Flesh could feel, flesh could comfort. Metal was cold and hard and cruel. There was no comfort in metal. No use in going back to sleep now, not after that nightmare. Edward Elric turned his head toward the tiny window in the hostel room he'd rented out, staring out onto the streets of Central. They weren't as he remembered them, but then he knew they weren't supposed to. This Central wasn't his Central, after all.

The moonlight that filtered through the dirty glass of the window glinted on the pocket-watch he kept by his head as he slept. It was beaten and battered, scarred like his body. It'd seen everything he'd seen, gone with him to the heat of battle and the sweet, coldness of fear and despair. It meant so much to him but it couldn't replace the one thing he'd lost and desperately wanted. Slowly, he reached for it with his right arm, metal clinking lightly against metal as he picked it up. Gold eyes watered as he cracked the watch open, viewing what was inside. The clock had long ago stopped working, but it didn't really matter. What mattered was what was taped on the inside of the cover, and the picture that was taped onto the clock's face. His flesh index finger touched the picture lightly, smearing a line of sweat and natural oil on the smiling face.

A cherubic face, framed by hair a slightly darker blonde than his own, gold eyes that were more expressive and sweeter than his could or would ever be.

"Alphonse… Don't worry. I've crossed this far into hell. I'll meet the devil eventually… and then I'll get you back." He smiled, his lips making a strange expression. "I promised you, remember? So just hold on, just a little while longer."

That smiling face didn't waver, didn't move, didn't change. Edward closed the pocket-watch with a decisive snap and moved to get out of bed. He stood naked in his room, staring down at his scarred, tortured body. He remembered every detail to the scars, how he'd gotten them, what he'd gone through to get them, and his gaze traveled down his body to his left leg where the automail connected to the skin. He made a note of the way the knee stuck a little as he took a step and resolved to get it fixed as soon as he could. He'd gotten good at keeping his automail in prime condition, but he wasn't anywhere close to Winry's level, and he couldn't go to her now, not when he was so close. Besides, this Winry wasn't his Winry anyway, and he couldn't put that innocent girl on the radar of anyone that could hurt her.

Especially those that hunted him.

Edward grabbed his clothes and moved to get a shower despite the early hour.

He couldn't sleep anyway.

oooo

The day started off well, as far as Edward Elric, the youngest State Alchemist in all of history, was concerned. He'd just finished off a mission that bastard Mustang had put him on, and he was finally getting a few days of rest where he and Alphonse could research more on the Philosopher's Stone, and work on getting their bodies back. The fourteen-year-old hopped down the steps of the Eastern Headquarters, and met up with his younger brother at the bottom step.

To many who knew them by reputation alone, everyone they met always assumed Alphonse was the elder of the two, and the Fullmetal Alchemist, simply because the boy was wearing a giant suit of armor. Unfortunately, the height difference between the two brothers played a very integral role in how people perceived them. In fact, the brothers were very different from one another. Ed was a fiery spirit, hotheaded and often rash, rushing into things before ever realizing he could be running into danger. Alphonse on the other hand was often levelheaded, calm and careful, preferring to talk his way out of violence rather than resort to it like his brother. Very few knew that the armor was actually empty, only a house for the soul. Edward had transmuted his brother's soul into the armor at the cost of his right arm, and now everything Edward did was to get Alphonse his original body back.

Alphonse's goal was the same thing, only his desire was to get Ed his limbs back.

"So," Alphonse began, "what did Roy say about this report?"

Ed made a few non-committal noises before he heaved a sigh. "Like he says all the time, "Write it neater, Fullmetal." or "Can't you be more specific?" At least he didn't make me rewrite it again. I think I would've killed him."

Alphonse gave a nervous chuckle. "You're not serious, are you?"

"Of course not. Riza'd kill me first." The elder Elric crossed his arms over his chest as they walked back to their hotel room. "Anyway, he didn't lay another one on me, so we can get back to what we were doing."

"Ah, right." Alphonse was grinning, even if the armor didn't show it. "I did some research while you were reporting."

"And what'd you find?"

"Well, there was this rumor floating around that somewhere in the desert was an oasis where someone had performed a few miracles." Alphonse rummaged for his notes. "It was alchemy, but the people who lived there hadn't seen alchemy before. Anyway, this stranger had a red stone with him, and they say he went toward Central."

Ed frowned. "So he could be anywhere, providing this is true."

"It's something."

"Yeah, yeah." Ed grinned at his younger brother. "Let's get out of here before Mustang decides he needs his diapers changed or something."

"You shouldn't be so mean to him, brother." Alphonse chided, but he didn't stop his pace, keeping up with Edward's strides as they reached the hotel.

"Maybe if he pulled that stick out of his ass once in a while and remembered I'm not his lap dog, maybe I'd try to be a little nicer." Ed snapped as he closed his trunk. Alphonse shook his head and picked up his brother's luggage, knowing there was no reasoning with Ed when he was angry, and the focus of his anger was Colonel Roy Mustang.

They made it to the train station, and they'd actually made it on the train when two military vehicles pulled up to the station. Ed hunkered down, hoping he wouldn't be noticed, but Alphonse couldn't be missed. Riza sidled up to them, her eyes focused on Ed's.

"No." Ed flatly refused before she'd even opened her mouth.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," Riza replied. "It concerns you."

Ed blinked, then looked at his brother. Alphonse gave a helpless little shrug. Ed looked back at Riza. "It concerns me?"

"I can't discuss more until we're in a secure location. But I'll tell you what I know."

Ed gave a dramatic sigh. "Just when we had a clue to chase too."

Riza didn't seem the least bit perturbed. "Get in the car, Edward."

Considering Riza would eventually use force if Ed continued to refuse her, the small blonde put up his hands in a surrendering position and got up from the train-seat, Alphonse following close behind. When the two young alchemists were safely in the car, Riza slid in with them and tapped on the wall to get the driver going.

"We weren't even gone ten minutes before you came after us." Ed grumped. "So what's so important?"

Riza folded her hands in her lap as she gazed at the boys before her. "I don't know how to accurately explain this, but there's been a series of murders in Central. I know that sounds like usual business, but these murders are alchemy-based."

Ed frowned and folded his arms over his chest. "Sounds like a job for the local police and Mustang. So what's this got to do with Alphonse and me? Don't tell me Mustang wants _us_ to look into these murders."

Riza shrugged. "I don't know. I was just told to get you. Apparently he thinks your expertise would be needed. If not that, then an extra pair - or two - of eyes might help us find a clue we've missed."

Ed sputtered a few choice curses and covered his mouth with his gloved hand. "That bastard knows just what to do to make me jump doesn't he?"

"Watch your language, young man." Riza scolded lightly. "But this is serious, Ed. Even if it doesn't concern you directly, it concerns the military, which you're part of. Or have you forgotten?"

Ed just glowered at the woman but kept quiet and sulked as the car took them back to Eastern Headquarters. Riza escorted them into Roy's office where the Colonel sat behind his desk, dark eyes scanning over a file that seemed to preside over all else on that messy desk. Riza took up her customary place beside Roy and Ed came to stand before that desk with Alphonse behind him. Roy ignored him for a few minutes more before he offered the young alchemist the file. "What do you make of this?" Roy asked.

Ed frowned and took the file, moving to the couch and sitting down as he opened up the file. There wasn't much – coroner's reports, incident reports, photographs and sketches of the crime scene, the names of those murdered and their own personal information. Ed's frown deepened as he read, his keen mind putting together the answers Roy had no doubt come to already.

"Brother?" Alphonse asked softly, hesitant about breaking his brother's concentration. Ed held up his hand, index finger raised, the others curled down, indicating he needed another minute of silence. Al complied, settling his bulky body onto the other couch and waiting patiently. Finally, Edward set the file on the coffee table between them and looked over at Roy.

"These people don't have anything in common," Ed told the Colonel, "except for the fact they're alchemists employed by the government. Out of the ten, only three are military personnel, and even then they're not serving currently."

Roy had folded his hands in front of his mouth, black eyes on Edward's gold ones. "And?"

"And those that aren't military were focused on some kind of weird research," Ed canted his head and looked at the file again. "But the research isn't listed."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Alphonse asked, leaning forward to look at the file.

"Because what they're researching is important to the welfare of Amestris." Roy answered. "If it got into the wrong hands, it could be disastrous." He looked each Elric brother in the eye. "What I'm going to tell you goes no farther than yourselves."

Edward glanced at Alphonse, who gave a short nod. He looked back at his superior officer and nodded himself. Roy sat back in his chair and briefly closed his eyes. "They're researching the possibility of transmuting objects from one place to another. Specifically, living objects."

"Like if we wanted to go from here to Central in an hour all we'd have to do is transmute ourselves there?" Alphonse asked, sounding startled.

Roy nodded. "Exactly."

Edward frowned. "But alchemy doesn't work that way. You can't transmute one thing from one place to another. It's impossible."

"Which is why it's called research, Fullmetal." Roy replied with a smirk. Ed glowered at him, mouth opening to say something pithy. "In so far, they've been unsuccessful, but someone desperately doesn't want them continuing the research." Roy interrupted. "The only problem is that no one but the researchers knows where they are and what they're researching."

"It's an inside job?"

Roy shook his head. "No. The researchers have been killed in their homes or out on the street. The thing is, no one ever sees anyone enter the homes or leave, and with the murders out on the streets–"

"No one sees anything either." Ed finished for him. "So what are we going to do about it?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "No one said anything about 'we' doing anything. Or 'you' for that matter."

"You had Riza pull us off the train instead of just leaving us a message at the nearest military outpost at the next stop the train would get to." Ed said dryly. "You want Alphonse and me to do something about this."

Roy's infinitely irritating smirk slowly etched its way onto his face. "You are a genius, Fullmetal." Ed's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'd like you and Alphonse to check into these cases. With a fresh pair of eyes, new clues could pop up."

"And I suppose you'd like us to catch the guy too."

Roy just smiled.

Ed heaved a sigh and slowly got to his feet. "I guess we're done here."

"I guess we are." Roy said in that half-amused tone. Ed slashed a glare at him and headed toward the door.

"C'mon, Alphonse."

"Uh, right."

Ed made it to the door and looked back at the Flame Alchemist. "Just so we're clear, I'm not putting aside my own research while I do this. So don't expect a timely report."

Roy made a dismissive gesture. "Just be sure to get me one, short stuff."

"Who're you calling a microscopic bean sprout so small not even ants can see him?!"

"Good bye, Fullmetal." Roy said cheerily as Alphonse dragged his brother out of the office. Riza calmly moved to pick up the file and turned to Roy. The black-haired Colonel simply shrugged at the woman's unspoken question and turned to look out the window in his office, frowning at the sight of dark storm clouds on the horizon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Two**

Water beat down on the tanned flesh of his back, his golden eyes focused on the drain, watching the swirl of crimson slowly become clear. He rested his forehead against his right arm as he braced himself against the shower tile, and closed his eyes. He'd almost lost the target today. Edward slowly opened his eyes to stare down at the tile beneath his feet. He hadn't gotten cocky; he never did, not when he went in for a kill. A dozen possibilities coursed through his mind as quickly as an alchemy formula did. They'd stepped up security for certain. It'd taken longer for him to get close to his target, and when he'd managed to get within range, the military patrol had shown up two minutes before the patrol was due. He hadn't had time for the subtle alchemy he normally used, so he went in fast and dirty.

He'd barely gotten out alive.

He shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing his towel and drying his hair before he wrapped the fluffy cloth around his waist. Edward moved out into his room and picked up his brown leather trench coat, frowning as his fingers slipped through several bullet holes on the right shoulder and sleeve.

"You're lucky," he told himself. "So damn lucky."

A few more inches to the left and he'd be on a slab somewhere, being cut open to see how he ticked. Or why he looked like a certain pipsqueak alchemist that was running around the Eastern area currently. Never mind the fact he and that pipsqueak alchemist were one and the same. Or, more accurately, two different sides of the same coin. One side was just more bear up and scarred than the other. Either way, it wouldn't make sense to the people who would've been examining his body. He dried off and pulled on his clothes, picking up that trench coat and pulling it on. He needed to get out of this hostel, move into the underground or into another hostel. He wished Greed were around; he could blend in easily with the chimera in that group. Unfortunately, the homunculus wasn't around yet – he couldn't remember if Greed had been killed by this point in time or if he had even been freed from his prison beneath Laboratory Five. Edward shook his head. Whatever. Greed wouldn't help him, not even if Edward promised to truss up Envy for him. Besides, even if he did ask for help, he couldn't accept it, not now. He was in too deep in this hell; he couldn't bring down others with him, even those homunculi. Even if Envy was his brother.

He heard the heavy boots of the soldiers pounding up the hallway. Golden eyes looked to the door and he estimated he had about ten more minutes to escape. He looked at the trunk he'd brought with him; it only held his extra clothes, a toothbrush, and a few other odds and ends. They were unnecessary. Edward grabbed his silver pocket watch and broke for the window, clapping his hands together to form a bigger doorway. He knew there was a long drop on the other side of the window and quickly diverted his alchemic energy into creating a staircase that disintegrated behind him as he went down. He hit the street and pulled up the hood on his jacket, looking back up as he heard the door to his room crash open. He heard shouts, orders from a superior officer to his underlings, demanding they find the one who owned the trunk. There were shouts from the opening Edward had made, and knew he didn't have long to make an escape before the military figured out a way to jump down or came down to the street the other way. He had to ditch the coat – it would give him away far more easily now than his old red coat ever would have.

Edward booked it down the alley, running lightly to keep his breath nice and even in case he had to run faster. He ditched the coat at the end of the alley and pulled his hair from its customary braid as he blended in with the crowd, disappearing into the sea of people on Central's streets. He passed a few street stalls that had bolts of cloth for sale and found a good roll of black leather. With his right hand he grabbed the roll, regretting not paying for it, but he couldn't allow anyone to see his face. He picked up his pace to find a secluded alley, spreading the roll out on the stones. He tied his hair back into its braid then, and took a moment to look around to make sure there weren't any military personnel nearby. He closed his eyes, took a breath, reopened his eyes and then clapped his hands together.

Alchemical light blared as he pressed his palms to the roll of black leather, the fabric shaping itself into a hooded trench coat like his brown one. When the light faded, Edward had his new jacket, which he quickly pulled on and closed tight as he pulled up the hood, stepping back out into the streets of Central. He had to find a new base of operations, of sorts.

There were still a few more that had to die.

oooo

"I can't believe we have to head to Central." Edward complained to Alphonse. The blonde leaned his head against the window of the train, feeling it vibrate against his skin. "It's like working in reverse."

"Well… it could be worse, you know." Alphonse said.

"Oh yeah? How?"

"The Colonel could've come with us, since it's him that the higher-ups are hounding about this."

Ed's lips curled down into a frown and he leaned his head back from the glass, staring up at his little brother. "Yeah."

It was no secret that Roy was the youngest man in military history to reach the rank of Colonel, and be a State Alchemist to boot. So because of that legendary status, Roy ended up getting most of the flak from the military brass when it came to murders of personnel and the like, and in turn, Edward caught the jobs Roy was just too lazy to get around to doing himself. Ed thought the saying was, 'shit rolls downhill'. He didn't like it.

"Why does Mustang put everything on us?" Ed complained. "What does _he_ do while we're out slaving away for him?"

"He keeps the brass happy and off our backs?"

"Stop defending him. He doesn't deserve it."

Alphonse smiled at the defeatist tone in his brother's voice. "He only told us to look into it, you know. Just head to Central and examine the scenes. He didn't actually say how we could get to Central or from what direction."

Edward blew out a long sigh. "I hate it when he's sneaky like that." He rubbed the back of his neck. "No, we probably should get to Central as quick as we can. These alchemical murders are kind of intriguing. And, they're studying a form of alchemy that's all but impossible. Still, maybe this trans-locational alchemy is something we might be able to use."

"Use how?" Alphonse asked. "Do you think we can just transmute a Philosopher's Stone from wherever it might be hidden?"

"Of course." Ed grinned. "I mean, think about it. So many things would be solved if we could just make the Stone come to us instead of us going to it."

Alphonse shook his head. "Brother, I know you're a genius, but sometimes you're incredibly stupid."

Ed laughed and lightly punched Alphonse's shoulder. "You know me better than that, Al. Nothing's ever easy, and if it is, then we're probably doing it wrong anyway."

Alphonse smiled even though Edward couldn't see. Ed had turned his attention to the scenery outside the train window, but his eyes weren't actually focused on what was outside. Ed had turned inward, where he could think about what they were about to her involved in, and how best they could work with the information they already had. Alphonse had no doubt that plans were flashing through his brother's head as fast as alchemy formulas. Alphonse turned inward, too. He focused on the aspects of the case that Ed was no doubt thinking about, but he focused on what the file had described as the modus operandi of the assassin.

The assassin was smart, no question about that. He - or she - obviously knew the routes the victims had taken, he had known when the victims would be at a certain location, and he'd known how much time he'd have between approaching the target and killing his target before a patrol came around. And he was always able to escape unsheathed and unseen. There was no evidence as to who it was or where he'd gone. Still, there was one thing in common, one thing that had jumped out at Alphonse: the weapon of choice had been alchemy. Which meant the assassin was a skilled alchemist, on par with a State Alchemist. They probably were going to have to dig through miles and miles of paperwork in order to rule out alchemist who perceived that they'd been alighted by the government, and they would have to look at the personnel working on this secret project, which wouldn't make anyone happy.

Still, Roy had a point. Both he and Edward had been able to solve most of the cases they'd been handed, whether they had actually been trying to solve them or not. There was always something that they saw or found that pointed them in the right direction. Even if someone grumbled about them poking their noses into places where kids didn't belong - which happened more often than Alphonse liked - Roy would be able to put the grumblers down, at least until Ed and Alphonse managed to ruffle feathers again. Edward had a terrible time controlling his mouth sometimes, and Alphonse was often the one who had to placate not only the person Ed had offended, but his brother too. It made him feel as if _he_ was the older brother instead of the younger. But, Alphonse realized with another unseen smile, he probably wouldn't have it any other way.

"Brother?"

"Hm?"

Alphonse looked toward Edward and waited until he had his brother's full attention. "Do you think we'll find any answers?"

Ed was quiet for a while. "I don't know. But that's the fun part of investigating, right?"


	3. Chapter 3

Three

They were here! They were _here_ in Cantos! Oh, they thought he didn't know, but thanks to a little bird, Raymond knew there were military dogs sniffing out his trail. And not just any dog, but the prized puppy, the prodigy, Mustang's little bitch, Edward Elric. Ray took several deep breaths, feeling the hyperventilation beginning to come on. He couldn't panic. The brat didn't know he knew after all. He could get away scot-free with only a little preparation.

The brat Elric would come to the mine, his bird told him. Try not to kill the pipsqueak, he'd been told. Raymond rubbed his hands together. Try not to kill Elric? Why bother trying? He needed to get rid of the Fullmetal Alchemist, and he'd do it with great pleasure. Besides, it'd teach that Mustang bastard a lesson.

"You're not planning on doing something stupid, are you?"

Raymond turned to face his bird, the skinny creature standing with his arms crossed over his chest. Dark eyes were narrowed dangerously beneath dark green hued, black hair. "Of course not." Ray replied. "He's important, yes? Besides, killing the Elric boys would bring the military down on us, and that's something we don't want, not when we're so close."

The skinny man grinned, sharp teeth bared. "Just remember that. Oh, and by the way, we're watching you."

Raymond frowned at the skinny, under-dressed creature as he turned to walk away with a wave. No matter, Ray decided. Even if that androgynous creature was watching him, he could still cover his tracks and get rid of Roy's little pet alchemist. All he had to do was wait.

"So this here's our mine." Mato told the Elric brothers. "It's pretty deep, so don't go steppin' off any paths now!"

Edward stared open-mouthed at the giant mouth of the mine. It was bigger than the ones he'd seen in Youswell and in Xenotime. There was scaffolding supporting the mouth, rocks and dirt kept back by a thick plank. Men pushed carts in and out of the cave, laughing and talking, each one doing a job that supported another worker's job.

"How deep does it go?" Ed asked, lengthening his stride to keep up with Mato and Alphonse.

"We don't know yet. So far we've only gone a thousand or so feet in."

"But you said we couldn't go off any paths." Alphonse said. "How can that be if you've only gone that far?"

Mato chuckled. "I said 'we'. That doesn't account for nature or previous collapses. We're still excavating some spaces. Ah! There's Ray. Ray!" He lifted a hand to wave.

Ed and Al followed Mato's gaze and found a young man waving back at Mato. He was tall and tanned from too many hours in the sun. Brown hair was swept up into a short tail atop the man's head, and blue-green eyes glittered happily. Ed glanced at Alphonse. The man identified as Ray didn't quite match up to the description given to them by Mustang.

Mato put his hand out for a shake, then stepped back. "Ray, this boy here's an alchemist like you. His companion's gonna be helping in the mine, so we thought maybe the kid could help you."

Ray smiled. "And you are?"

Ed blinked. "Edward. And this is my brother, Alphonse."

"I see. Looking for work, huh?" Roy patted Ed's shoulder. "Aren't you a little young?"

"Well, we kinda need the money." Ed lied smoothly. He smiled up at Raymond. Ray didn't smile back; his eyes narrowed dangerously at the young alchemist. Ed's smile faltered. "We want to go to the next town, see the world. So we need the money." Ed clarified. Ray's eyes warmed a little, but only a little.

Mato clapped Ray on the shoulder. "Don't scare 'em with all that government crap. They're kids; they don't need to fear the military wherever they go."

Ray smiled, lines crinkling around his eyes. "Everyone needs to fear the military. They're gonna come here one day, take all the able-bodied ones away. They're gonna make you work, like they did me."

Ed and Al exchanged nervous glances. Mato roared with forced laughter. "What's the military want with kids? C'mon now, forget all that! We've got work to do. Alphonse, you come with me. Ed, you go with Ray and see what you can do." The old miner clapped Ed on his shoulder and walked away, yelling for Alphonse to hurry up.

"Go on, Al." Ed said with a slight grin. "I'll be all right."

"If you're sure, brother." Alphonse turned to follow Mato, pausing to look back at his older brother and the man they were supposed to take back to East HQ. It didn't seem like Ray knew them, knew who they were, but still Alphonse had a sinking feeling. Alphonse followed Mato into the mine.

Ed looked up at Ray. "So you're an alchemist?"

Ray smiled. "It shows that much?"

"Well, they say like calls to like."

"So they do. Edward, right? You wouldn't happen to be Edward Elric? The Fullmetal Alchemist?" Ray smiled a little wider, waiting for the boy to panic.

Ed just smiled in reply. "I'm not that good. But it's nice of you to equate me to him. See?" Edward spread his hands. He'd elected to leave behind his red jacket and, at Alphonse's insistence, his silver pocket watch. "I'm not a State anything."

Ray's lips curled down into a slight frown. Had he really been wrong? Was this boy really not the Fullmetal Alchemist? No, this boy was him. Why would his employer warn him of this blonde brat if he wasn't important? "Well, I guess people can share a name, huh?"

Ed grinned. "I get that a lot."

Ray smirked. "I don't doubt it. Now let's go see what we can fix. The more we get done, the more Mato and his boys can clear out."

"What are you looking for in there, anyway?" Ed asked, moving after Ray as the man headed toward the cave.

"Let's see." Ray scratched his head. "Water, for one thing. Sometimes we find gems or precious metals we can sell. But what we really want is to grow something green out here."

Ed nodded and stepped into the cold dark of the cave. Men were working in the wings of the cave, clearing out rock and rubble. Ed saw Alphonse down a little deeper in the cave and wound at his brother as Ray led him into another section of the cave.

"So let's see what you can do." Ray said with a smile. "See how that plank is snapping? If that goes, this cave could collapse."

"So all I gotta do is fix it, huh?" Ed cracked his knuckles and stepped toward the plank. He was about to clap his hands together when he remembered Raymond was watching him. He picked up a sharp rock and moved to draw a transmutation circle on the wood as carefully as he could. He could feel Ray's eyes boring holes into the back of his head and tried not to sweat.

"What's taking so long, shorty?" Ray asked. "I could've fixed that and been on to the next project by now."

Ed felt his temper rise and nearly turned toward Ray to retort. But he remembered Alphonse's warning. Ray didn't now who they were or what they were in Cantos for. Edward had to keep his cool or Raymond would escape. "Well, it's hard to get it right when the material is so unstable." He placed his fingertips lightly on the transmutation circle and activated the alchemy. Formulas flashed through his mind on instinct, and the light engulfed the wood and stone it supported. When the light faded, the cracked beam was now a mix of wood and stone, stronger and more durable.

Ray gave the young alchemist a slow smirk. "I guess you've got some skills, pipsqueak. All right then, let's move on."

Ed waited until Raymond had turned his back to silently fume curses at the man. It was no secret Ed was was sensitive about his height and the easiest way to incite his temper was to make a 'short' comment, even inadvertently. Whispered or yelled, Edward always reacted violently, no matter who it was who said it. But right now, his mission depended on Ed's keeping cool. That included keeping his temper in check when someone made a comment about his height. _Well,_ Ed thought, _once I bring him to Mustang, THEN I can get him for calling me short!_

Edward heaved a breath and hurried after Raymond, trying to plan how he and Alphonse would capture him.


	4. Chapter 4

Four

The uniformed officers waved the Elric brothers through as Mallory bulled his way through the crowd that had sprung up around the hostel building that was now cordoned off to anyone who wasn't military or involved in the case that was currently taking up the front page of Central's newspaper. Ed glanced around at the faces of the crowd, trying to see if any didn't belong there, or if someone looked too curious about what was going on inside the building. Disappointingly, he didn't see anyone that matched either description. He followed Mallory inside the hostel, heading up the stairs to the third floor. Alphonse elected to stay outside and follow another officer around to the other side of the building.

When Ed entered the room, the first thing he noticed was the giant hole in the wall. He headed toward it, studying the edges of the hole. Definitely alchemical, judging by the smooth edges of the hole and the small, almost imperceptible rectangles that showed the stone had been molded rather than blasted. It was destruction alchemy at work for sure. He stood at the threshold of the hole and looked down into the alley where Alphonse now stood. The younger Elric was studying the building's wall, almost scrutinizing the wall and the rubble that covered the alley's floor.

"Alchemy there too?" Ed called down to Alphonse.

Al nodded. "Looks like he made stairs." The suit of armor turned to look down each side of the alley. "The thoroughfare is that way. My guess is that he ran toward the crowds rather than away from them."

"Definitely easier to hide in plain sight, especially since we don't know what this bastard looks like." Ed said, turning back into the room. "Come up here when you're done down there."

"Okay."

Ed slowly began to pace the room, looking for anything that could give him a clue as to the killer's motives. Or a clue as to who he might be. The room itself was bare except for a bed and a nightstand. The nightstand had a lamp on top of it, but very little else. Whoever this guy was, he certainly didn't believe in leaving anything behind. Then Ed's eye fell on the trunk tucked away on the other side of the bed and moved toward it. The trunk looked old, worn, but well taken care of. Made of metal and wood, it had a dark green cloth stretched along the top and sides of it. There was no lock, but Ed was certain there was an alchemical trap attached somewhere, ready to explode if someone tampered with the trunk.

He dragged it out of its hiding place and brought it to the center of the room. There he crouched, studying the locking mechanism to see if he could open it here, or if it was safer to open it outside where there was less of a chance of something being destroyed, namely, the building.

Alphonse entered the room to find Ed still puzzling over the trunk. "What's that?" Alphonse asked, moving to crouch next to his brother.

"Looks like our killer left this behind. I'm trying to figure out if there's any traps on it."

"Looks ordinary enough to me."

"Al, this trunk might belong to a psychotic killer. We can't take anything for granted."

Alphonse looked at Ed. "Do you want me to open it? Even if there's a trap, I won't be as affected as badly as you would be."

Ed tilted his head to look at Alphonse, his eyes slightly narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Alphonse smiled. "I don't have to worry about getting my head dented in if I ruin my armor."

Edward paled a little bit, and Alphonse wondered if his brother was going to be sick. It was a low blow, and Alphonse knew it. Every time the brothers went on another adventure or got involved in military work, there was the inevitable moment where Ed would either break or almost break his automail, usually his arm. Which either resulted in a trip home to Resembool to visit his mechanic, or his mechanic made the trip out to Central or Eastern HQ to fix what Ed broke. And Winry never took kindly to the fact Ed broke his automail, whether it was by accident or on purpose. She also meted out her own punishment on Ed for breaking his automail, which she worked so hard on for him, a fact she never let him forget. So Edward stood up and stepped behind Alphonse, and Alphonse shifted his position so he could focus on the lock on the trunk and shield his brother from whatever might happen.

The lock looked as ordinary as locks could come. It was a single latch, a single keyhole that looked as if it hadn't seen a key in some time. Which told Alphonse that the trunk's owner used alchemy to unseal the trunk rather than a key. Alphonse took a deep breath and reached out to take the lock in his hand. He turned it one way then the other, then finally set it back against the trunk. He pulled out his piece of chalk and began to draw an alchemy formula directly in the trunk surrounding the lock. When he finished, he put the chalk away and shifted his body to better shield his brother from anything that might go wrong.

"Ready, Ed?"

"Go ahead."

Alphonse set his fingers against the outermost part of the chalk circle he'd drawn and activated his alchemy. The light filled the room and Alphonse watched the lock shiver and shake as his alchemy worked against the tumblers and mechanisms inside. Then the light flared brighter, and Alphonse yelped as his alchemy backfired. The lock and a good portion of the trunk exploded, showering Alphonse with bits of cloth, wood, and metal. Edward slowly uncurled himself from the tight ball he'd folded himself in, then looked toward Alphonse in alarm.

"Are you okay?" Ed asked his brother. "Al? Alphonse!"

Alphonse coughed harshly. "I'm okay, brother. I'm okay. I wasn't expecting that."

Edward moved to look at the remains of the lock and the trunk. "I guess he was expecting someone to tamper with it, huh?"

"Looks that way. It was like he had an alchemical trap on it, designed to stop any alchemy at the destruction phase." Alphonse looked at his fingers. They were singed, but not destroyed. "But it looks like it was also designed not to hurt the person using the alchemy on the lock."

Ed turned to look at his brother, golden eyes studying those ashen metal fingers. There didn't seem to be any damage beyond the surface but then, he had a pretty good idea what his flesh would've looked like had he been touching the lock when it exploded. "I guess whatever was in there wasn't really important after all."

"I don't know." Alphonse said, moving to look through the remains of the trunk. "Looks like clothes."

"Like I said, not really important. No one knows who this guy is. It wouldn't be hard for him to buy new clothes."

"I don't think he had any money. According to the officer I was with, this hostel takes on people who usually don't have anything to their name and want to remain anonymous. They get their money through donations and government funding."

Edward frowned. "Guess that makes this the perfect hideout for him. Are there any other places like this?"

"I don't know. I'll ask Mallory. He might know of any more places like this, and he could put a watch on them." Alphonse poked at several scraps of what might have been a shirt and wondered what kind of killer would simply leave so much evidence behind, unless it couldn't be traced to him in the first place. Even if they sent it away for testing, there was a good chance that there would be no evidence on the clothes, no blood or anything that could be a definitive link to their owner.

Edward sighed. "The only clue we have is that he's a really good alchemist and that now he's somewhere out there in a city of thousands."

"I guess we'll have to either hope he makes a mistake and shows up at one of these hostels or striking at a known target." Which neither of them wanted to have happen, though they harbored no doubts that it would. Alphonse rose from the floor and gave the room another look. "I think we're done here, right, brother?"

Ed put his hands on his hips and frowned at the giant hole in the wall. "I guess so. I mean, I don't see anything giving us an idea of where he's going or what he's going to do next. Let's find Mallory and see what he found out. We'll see if he'll take us to the scene of the murder next."

"What good would that do?"

Edward looked up at his little brother. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Alphonse paused, "we already know how he kills. Do we really need to see the crime scene and the body?"

"The scene I want to go look at because I want to see how he was able to get close. Everything's been stepped up since Central put two and two together with these murders." Ed said. "So the killer is back to square one with the rest of his list. I also want to see if there's any alchemical evidence. Maybe we can figure out a circle that will keep his alchemy from working."

Alphonse nodded. "Since there's no circle left behind, the circle has to be on his person. If we can disrupt that somehow, his circle shouldn't activate if he can't complete it."

"Right." Ed touched his automail right arm. "It'd be the equivalent of breaking my arm here. If I can't move it, I can't perform my alchemy very well."

The Elric brothers left the apartment and headed out of the building to find Lieutenant Mallory. The portly man was standing with a matronly woman in a patchwork dress and a white apron. When he spotted the Elrics, he nodded at the woman, then headed over to the boys. "Anything up there?" He asked.

"Nothing." Ed replied. "There was a trunk, but it was rigged to explode if someone tampered with the lock."

Mallory eyed them. "Let me guess. You tampered with it."

Ed shrugged as if he didn't really care. "Besides that, nothing of note was left behind."

"The hostel lets people stay for free," Alphonse said, "so he doesn't have any money. Which means he'll have to stay out on the streets or risk another house like this."

Mallory rubbed his chin. "There aren't many houses like this. I'll see if I can get a unit out to those houses to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious."

"Those officers that followed him, did they see what he looked like?" Ed asked. "Or that lady?"

Mallory shook his head. "They only saw a brown leather coat cut in the style like your red coat. Hood was pulled up to obscure the face and the guy wore gloves. As for the lady, she runs the sign in desk here. Every tenant is required to sign in upon entering the building and upon leaving, so they can keep track of who's in what apartment and how long the person stays."

"So what name did he use?" Ed asked. "Maybe we can track him through that?"

Mallory chuckled humorlessly. "I wish it was that easy. He used the name Alfons Heiderich. I'm having some people run down the name, but I'm pretty sure it's an alias."

Ed and Alphonse exchanged looks. Then Ed looked back at Mallory. "Is there a chance we might be able to go to the scene? I'd like to take a look around there."

Mallory's lips thinned to a little line. "I'll see what I can do, but the people at that facility are very... wary of outsiders. It's amazing the killer got so close." The portly lieutenant walked away, leaving the Elric brothers alone on the street.

"Why would he use my name?" Alphonse asked.

"I don't know if he actually meant to use it. That name..." Ed paused, arms crossing over his chest as he thought long and hard about that name. "It sounds familiar somehow."

Alphonse looked down at his brother. "Really? Where have you heard it before?"

"I don't know," Ed replied after a long moment, "it feels like the answer's on the tip of my tongue but I really don't know."

The Elrics looked at each other for a long time before Alphonse sighed. "I don't like this, brother. I wish Roy was here."

Ed grimaced, but he nodded. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but, me too, Alphonse. Me too."


	5. Chapter 5

Five

Edward Elric settled himself in a corner of the main plaza in Central and folded his arms over his chest. He kept his hood drawn over his face, which drew a few looks from passers-by, but otherwise, no one really bothered him. He watched the crowds mill about and smiled despite the terrible feeling aching in his chest. After he'd gone to ground, after the military had found his room, Ed had received a nameless letter with a time and a meeting location only. He knew what it was about, just as he knew if he didn't show up, then they'd carry through with their threats toward Alphonse. They'd already proven to him that if he didn't obey, if he didn't do as they told him to do, then Alphonse was as good as dead.

Ed closed his eyes for a moment to keep that memory at bay. It was too fresh, too close to tearing open the wounds he'd received when he'd first lost his brother due to his childhood foolishness to when he was stuck for two years in Germany, and finally to little more than a year ago, when the Académie showed up on their doorstep and demanded Edward help them with their scheme. And because they had Alphonse, Ed had agreed to be their assassin. He hated that he had to do it, hated that he couldn't figure out a way _not_ to do it, hated that he couldn't find any clue as to where the Académie had made their base or where they were holding Alphonse. He couldn't even try to find out. If he did-

"Your brother sends his regards."

Ed didn't turn at the sound of the deep voice. He didn't react at all and give the man the satisfaction of seeing him jump. "He better be okay."

"He's fine. Still alive, and I'm sure you're anxious to keep him that way."

Now Ed did turn around and look at the man behind him. Tall and broad shouldered, with skin nearly as dark as an Ishbalan, the man looked the part of a mercenary. Ed had dealt with him before, when the Académie was originally trying to _persuade_ him and Alphonse to help them. Which both Elrics had refused, especially since the Académie had had a few fingers in the Thule Society pie. What his name was, Ed couldn't bring himself to care. The bastard was the only key he had to his brother right now. "Do you want to dig that verbal knife even deeper or do you want to tell me why you've called me here? I mean, it's not like I'm being hunted or anything."

The man's eyes narrowed. "You were sloppy."

"I don't know about your methods, but if you're interrupted, you'd probably be messy too."

"You were followed."

"Again, if you were interrupted and continued on anyway, you'd probably followed, too. I wasn't caught, I wasn't seen, so you can quit with the incompetency shit and tell me what Olivier told you to tell me."

The man scowled. "Fine. He wants you to hurry up with your task. Now that the Amestris military has caught on, and has linked the cases, he wants the timetable stepped up. And I was also told to tell you that the Central military had brought in your younger self and his brother to investigate. I hope you understand what it means if they catch you."

Ed clenched his fists and remained quiet. Then he said, "I understand. And you tell Olivier he better honor his word when I'm done, or I'll tear him apart. And since we're in _my_ world, you know I'm telling the truth."

The man bared his teeth at the unmasked threat in Ed's words. Yes, while the Académie had Alphonse in their hands, Ed was their puppet, jumping when he was told to jump and killing whom he was told to kill. But despite having Alphonse as their prisoner, it didn't give them total control over him. If they hurt Alphonse, Edward would show them exactly what a State Alchemist would do, and he didn't care who he had to bury to get to his brother.

The two stared at each other for a little longer, then the man lifted his hand and poked a finger hard into Ed's chest. "Just do what you're told. Don't get caught. And if you have to destroy yourself and your other little brother, you do it."

"Just because we're in another timeline doesn't mean we can mess with it as we please."

"Spare me the science babble. I don't care. Just know we mean what we say."

"Like I can forget." Ed whispered as the man walked away, vanishing into the crowd. He turned away and melted into the crowd himself, walking slowly through the city.

He let his thoughts wander because it was the only thing he could do to keep his body moving aimlessly rather than heading toward the next target on the ever-shorter list. His thoughts, though, turned to how he got in this quagmire in the first place.

It all started after he and Al decided to stay in Germany instead of heading back to Amestris after the Thule Society had opened the gate, which was subsequently destroyed. From there, they'd traveled to various other places, working on various projects to make a living. But Ed, as always, had begun to wonder if there was some way they could communicate with the other side, and had begun going through the calculations and science that would be needed. Alphonse had helped him with those calculations and finding materials and checking equations when Ed stayed up too late to be able to hold a pencil. And then Ed had stumbled upon a translocation equation via alchemy, though in a world that alchemy didn't exist, the Elrics had to devise another way of using their translocation "alchemy".

They'd started small, with inanimate objects. First in their lab, which had been an abandoned warehouse, they'd harnessed electricity to power lights strung in an alchemical circle. It had been a joke, really, to set the lights up that way, but something had happened that neither of the brothers had been expecting - the experiment _worked_. The book that had been their test subject went from one end of the warehouse to the other. It was such a shock to them that for a while they just stood there and stared at the book. Then they scrambled to figure out how they'd achieved it, and eventually came upon the answer. Little did they know that the Académie had been following them since the Thule Society's fall. Little did they know that their success in their experiment would cause them the trouble they were in now.

Their success in the warehouse had caused them to test range, and the entire time they were being watched. Once they'd experimented successfully in translocating various objects various distances, the Académie had struck. They'd taken Alphonse, snatching the eighteen year old right off the street. Ed hadn't even known Alphonse was missing until Olivier had showed up at his doorstep with Alphonse's jacket. That had made the nineteen year old Edward Elric quite angry, but all it took was Olivier's quiet command and the sound of a round being loaded into the chamber of a pistol to get Ed to come quietly. The Elric brothers had been loaded into the same truck and then driven to an undisclosed location.

Olivier had then proceeded to tell the boys his plan, and he fully expected their cooperation. Ed and Al had both stared at the man; Olivier wasn't exactly imposing, nor did he come across as psychotic. He was of average height, with a mop of brown hair that was always messy, like he'd just rolled out of bed and hadn't bothered to brush it. His eyes were a smoky green, hidden behind glasses. Always dressed impeccably, Olivier commanded loyalty not by cruelty or harshness but by knowing how far he could push a man before the man would snap.

Olivier hadn't threatened Alphonse right away. The Elric brothers weren't stupid; with access to the Académie's technology and resources, their experiments could actually work in bridging the gap between the two worlds. But there was no way to know for sure, not without human test subjects, and that Edward wasn't willing to do. A botched escape attempt had resulted in Olivier finally displayed some temper.

Ed's body still shook as he remembered what had happened that night, how with anger and shaking hands he'd made the transmutation circle around Olivier and some of his goons - and Alphonse, who knelt between Olivier be a guard. When Ed refused to go further with the experiment, Olivier had produced a pistol, loaded a single bullet into the chamber and spun it. Then he pressed the barrel against Alphonse's head. "One in six," Olivier said, "one in six chance this bullet meets his head. Do you want to take that chance?" And the bastard pulled the trigger.

_Click._

Ed had done it, powered up the machine and had activated the electricity and tried to explain they'd never done this with living things, but he was ignored. And then Olivier and the rest of them had disappeared in a crackle of lightning, leaving Ed alone with those of the Académie who had stayed behind. And that was a problem. So Ed had activated the circle again and had leaped into the opened "gateway" himself. It was a frightening tumble, and when he's landed, he realized too late that he'd made a mistake with the first experiment. He'd ended up in his own timeline Amestris - Alphonse had ended up in this one.

How had the elder Elric finally caught up? The short answer was that he could now use the formulas that he'd created in the other world along with his alchemy. He'd needed help, of course, and had gone to the only person he trusted for it. Roy had wanted to come too, but Ed had managed to convince him not to. His cheeks flared red, an emotion he quickly pushed away. Roy would be so mad at him, and if he ever returned to his Amestris, the Flame Alchemist certainly would give him the sharp side of his tongue. As insurance, though, if something _did_ happen to him, Ed had left his notes and formulas on the translocation alchemy with Roy, in a code only Roy would be able to break.

And if Roy _did_ break it, he'd be after Ed like a bloodhound.

_Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Between the two of us, we could get Alphonse back and destroy the Académie. _But how to explain the blood on his hands? How to explain what he'd done to get Alphonse back? Would Roy even understand?

Ed stopped walking in front of a large building and looked up at the ten foot high wrought iron gate. In his musings, he'd arrived at his destination, the scene of his next killing. He knew he shouldn't strike now, not with the army racing to station guards at the workplaces and residences of his remaining targets. Shouldn't draw attention to himself right now, not when his fifteen year old self, and his brother, were hunting him too.

"But I'm this far into hell," Ed whispered to himself, "and to stop now would get Alphonse killed." He stepped closer to the gate, studying the interior yard and looking for any cameras or patrols. His only advantage was to be striking now, when they were still scrambling. But that was a short lived advantage, because the more people he killed, the closer a confrontation would become. It was a chess game, and eventually there would be a checkmate.

Ed moved along the fence, pretending to be just another face in the crowd, looking for a secluded place to get through. He, of course, didn't know if his target was here or not, but it wouldn't hurt to look. If he wasn't here, then he'd be at home, and if he wasn't at home, then Ed's job would get that much more difficult. He found an adjoining alley and studied the walls. Close enough for what he intended. He braced his hands on one end and his feet on the other, and then he began to scale the wall hand over hand until he reached the roof. He took a moment to catch his breath, look out onto the cityscape of Central, and then steel himself for the next step of his task.


	6. Chapter 6

Six

"We've got all but one of the targets in a safe house," Mallory was explaining to Ed and Alphonse as they hurried down the street. Around them was a flurry of activity by the military, cars positioned as road blocks and soldiers standing ready with their guns drawn and held at the ready. It seemed like an over the top reaction by the military, but based on what Ed and Alphonse had learned from the files and scenes, there wasn't a reason to take a chance. And with night falling, the chances of an attack happening, along with the killer escaping, was an all too real possibility.

"And you're sure Rhys Houck is still in the building?" Edward asked, trying to keep up with Mallory's strides.

"He never clocked out, and as far as we know, he hasn't evacuated with the others when we put in the call."

"So we can safely assume he's still in there." Alphonse said. "And we can probably safely assume the killer's in there too."

Edward scowled. If the killer really was in there, then their job would get just a little bit harder. It would probably mean they'd have to split up - one would save the intended victim and the other would try to stop the killer. Providing, of course, the victim was still on this side of living.

The three of them hurried up to the barricade that had been formed by military personnel and wooden horses in front of the main doors. Edward didn't bother to look at their faces; everyone who had a hand in this case knew what kind of person they were up against, and what would happen if they failed. They also knew what the cost could be for their success. Ed and Al hurried up the front stairs with Mallory, and there Ed stopped the portly soldier from opening the door. "Al and I will go in alone. It's better for alchemists to fight alchemists, and I don't want you or anyone else getting caught up in the crossfire." Ed said.

Mallory frowned but nodded. There was disbelief that two kids - even if one was a State Alchemist - could successfully fight and win against a ruthless killer. It was a disbelief most people held about Edward and Alphonse, at least until they got to know the boys. Mallory curled his hand around the door's handle. "Be careful in there."

Ed smiled. "Don't worry about us. We'll be just fine."

Mallory nodded and opened the door, letting Ed and Al slip through and into the building.

The front hall was eerily quiet and frightening even with the lights still on. Ed could see a receptionist's desk and a few offices that were dark. A staircase wound up to a second floor, and there were a set of two elevators set into one of the walls. There were papers strewn everywhere, a sign that people had left in a hurry. Edward and Alphonse made their way slowly through the main hall and up the stairs. No one was on the first floor; they'd been evacuated first. The second floor was much the same as the first - a few offices and a receptionist's desk, but now there were also laboratories encased in glass walls that held beakers and other things. None of the items Ed could see were for alchemy, but then, it was a secret project these people were working on, so it wouldn't be obvious about its location.

"Ed," Alphonse said softly, "do you hear that?"

Ed strained his ears to try and hear the same sound his brother was. He almost dismissed Alphonse's words as fear getting the better of him, but then he heard the soft tread of boots on the floor. The sound was still far away from the brothers, but steadily moving closer. Ed nodded. "I hear it." He said in a whisper. "It might be him."

"Or it might be Rhys."

Ed looked around the second floor, trying to find a good place to hide and try an ambush on whoever was coming. The brothers hurried down the small hall they were in and found a foyer where the walls were cinder block instead of glass. Edward gestured for Alphonse to hide around the corner and he hid against the opposite wall. The footsteps continued to grow louder and both Elrics realized the person was heading their way, slowly but surely.

_Ready? _Ed mouthed to his brother.

Alphonse nodded.

Ed crouched low and prepared to unleash his alchemy on the floor, his intent to trap the person's feet. The footsteps paused just down the hall from them, hesitating for the briefest of moments before moving closer.

A man in a black hooded jacket appeared at the threshold of the two cinder block walls. His hood was pulled up over his face, obscuring it from view. He wasn't tall, but he was certainly a little taller than Ed was. He wore gloves on his hands and thick-soled boots. Ed managed to catch a quick glimpse of pale skin before he unleashed his alchemy.

The floor beneath the man's feet turned from solid linoleum to a liquidy sort of plastic amalgamation. The man looked shocked for the briefest of moments and then he leaped clear of the floor. Alphonse moved then, his fist heading for the man's chest. The man dodged to the side and grabbed Alphonse's wrist, and to both Elrics' surprise, spun Alphonse around and almost threw him down the hall. The man looked at Edward, hesitated, then bolted up the next set of stairs.

"Go!" Alphonse yelled. "Don't let him get away, brother!"

"You better be right behind me!" Ed yelled back, then gave chase. He bounded up the stairs two at a time, then emerged out into another laboratory. Ed stopped to look down at the door he stood on, and made out the sign of "authorized personnel only". Ahead of him was the man in black and Ed could see the silhouette of another person with him.

Rhys Houck wasn't an imposing man, kind of mousy with short dark hair and thick glasses. For a moment, Ed couldn't believe he was an alchemist, let alone a State one, but then he knew looks could be deceiving. Rhys noticed Ed then and cried, "Help me! Please!"

Any other plea was cut off as the man in black grabbed him around the throat and lifted him off the floor. Ed let out a soft growl and clapped his hands together, then slapped them down on the metal door. A spear formed from the metal, and Ed launched himself toward the man in black, spear leading. The man saw him coming and side-stepped his attack, grabbing the haft of the spear as it passed by. There was the crackle of alchemical light and Ed yelped as his momentum carried him and the bottom half of his spear into the window. The man dragged Rhys away from Edward and hefted the spear.

He never got the chance to use it.

Alphonse's alchemy hit the man from behind and then the linoleum hand closed around Rhys, whose scream was cut off as soon as those fingers curled around him. The man in black looked toward Alphonse and hefted the spear again. Edward scrambled to his feet and ran at the man in black, swinging his end of the spear. The two pieces met with a resounding clang.

Ed grinned up at the hidden face of his enemy. "You're pretty good. Too bad you messed up now."

The man said nothing. Instead he shifted his weight and bore down on Ed's part of the spear, his hand coming in fast for Ed's automail shoulder. Ed was forced to dodge and disengaged from his enemy and danced back as the man came on, the spear in his hand smoothly transitioning to a sword. Ed's eyes almost popped out of his head. The transformation had been seamless, flawless, barely a hint of alchemical light. To have that kind of skill with alchemy, to be able to do such a thing...

There was only one explanation.

"You have a Philosopher's Stone, don't you?" Ed asked, an excited note in his voice.

The man's shoulders twitched. Then he came on, his blows heavy. It was all Ed could do to defend himself, and he found himself being driven backwards across the room. Each time he tried to make a move he was blocked. It was almost like the man knew what he was going to do before he decided to do it. It didn't matter, though. Ed knew he was providing the distraction for Alphonse, so his little brother could get Rhys to the safety of the military downstairs.

The man seemed to realize this and whirled. He ran toward Alphonse, who had released the alchemy around Rhys. Rhys saw the assassin coming and yelled a strangled warning to Alphonse. Ed started running too, because he saw that sword swing up and angle itself to take off Alphonse's arm and Rhys' head. Alphonse reacted far faster than Ed had expected his little brother would. He moved to kick out at the man's legs, and when the man leaked to avoid the kick, he punched him in the solar plexus. Or tried to. The man brought the sword between him and Alphonse's fist so the armor' knuckles hit the metal instead if flesh and bone. The force of Alphonse's attack still flung the man backwards. He hit the floor in his back, lost the grip on his weapon, and rolled backwards until he skidded to a stop. He lay motionless for a moment, stunned.

"Come on!" Ed yelled, grabbing for Rhys and pulling him for the stairwell. The man wordlessly followed, terrified by what was happening.

"Ed! Look out!"

There was a crackle of alchemical light and the doorway to the stairwell started to close as the cinderblock wall began to merge together. Ed poured on all the speed he could, dragging Rhys with him. He leaped through and cleared the ever-shrinking hole in the wall, pulled Rhys through behind him, and whirled to look for Alphonse. He saw his little brother locked with the assassin, and barely heard "Go, brother! I have him!" before the two walls merged together, cutting Alphonse off from Edward. Ed stared for a moment, then grit his teeth and turned to Rhys. The man lay on the floor, cowering and useless.

Growling and grumbling to himself, Ed grabbed Rhys by the front of his shirt and forced the man to look at him. "You're one lucky guy. I'm going to get you out of here, and then I'm coming back for my brother. And if he's hurt, I'm going to make sure you pay for it."

Edward pulled Rhys to his feet and dragged him down the hall, not wanting to acknowledge the ache in his chest at leaving Alphonse behind with a killer.


	7. Chapter 7

Seven

Alphonse watched the killer as Ed and Rhys ran for the hole in the wall, moving to intercept the killer before he could stop Ed from escaping. He couldn't perform alchemy as fast as his brother could, but he was more than capable to fighting hand to hand. So he rushed the man in black and struck at him with a right hook. Surprised, the man dodged out of the way and danced back, his attention now on Alphonse rather than Ed and Rhys. It allowed Ed to get Rhys safely out, but also trapped Alphonse inside a room with a killer and no way out.

"I won't let you escape." Alphonse said, settling into a defensive stance.

The man in black looked at him - and sighed.

Alphonse blinked, startled and confused. Was the man upset that he'd lost his target or was it something else? The man turned away from Alphonse and started making his way toward the glass window. Alphonse watched him for a moment, and then realized what the man intended to do. Alphonse quickly rushed the man, not wanting him to get away.

The man in black spun at the last second to avoid Alphonse's hit. He studied Alphonse for a long moment, and Alphonse saw those black-covered shoulders rise and fall as if the man had just tensed and just as quickly relaxed. But he didn't move to attack Alphonse. Instead, it just seemed like he was watching him.

Alphonse swallowed hard. "I have to take you in. You have to answer for all the lives you've taken."

The man just stood still. Then, slowly, he shook his head. He stepped toward the glass again and reached for it. Before Alphonse could react, there was the flash of alchemical light and the glass around the man's hand began to melt and twist, changing its form from a window to a walkway out into open air. Alphonse moved then, before the man could escape, and reached for him. His fingers snagged some of the material of the man's jacket but he couldn't retain enough of a grip to pull him back. The man escaped onto the glass walkway and moved to the very edge of it. Alphonse stared down at the street far below and the military that was there, pointing fingers and guns up at the killer and Alphonse.

"Don't!" Yelled Alphonse. "You don't have to do this! There's another way, I know there is!"

The man lifted his head enough for Alphonse to catch the flash of white skin and a sad smile. He gave Alphonse a shrug and took a step backwards. Alphonse quickly stepped out onto the walkway, noting the sudden tenseness in the man's body. He took a slow step forward, balancing precariously on the glass walkway. Below, Al caught a glimpse of blonde, and knew his brother was watching.

Alphonse focused on the killer. "There's another way." He said again. "What you've done, it's wrong on so many levels, but I know we can figure out something. We can get to the bottom of this."

The man smiled a little sadly. It looked to Alphonse like he wanted to say something but didn't dare. Then the man in black gave Alphonse a slow nod, took a single step backwards, and fell off the glass walkway.

Gasping, Alphonse gave chase, scratching out a quick alchemy circle to divert the edge of the walkway so he could use it as a sort of launching pad. He dove after the man, ignoring the cry of Ed's voice when his brother saw his fool maneuver. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Alphonse knew he was taking the life-threatening risk only because he was in a suit of empty armor and had nothing to really lose if he crashed to the ground far, far below. Ed would be pissed, of course, but what was the fun of being a little brother who did crazy stupid things to scare his big brother? Especially when the big brother did crazy stupid things to scare the little brother?

As Alphonse fell after the man in black, he caught a glimpse of a gold eye looking up at him in surprise and then there was the flash of alchemical light and what sounded like a clap of thunder to Alphonse's ears. He didn't see anything that anyone could work alchemy on, but he decided maybe Ed had managed to run toward them in time to do something. Then Alphonse saw the world tilt and thought he was falling even faster because the ground was rushing up to meet him and-

He crashed into a pile of trash bags set up in an alleyway.

Alphonse lay stunned for a moment, unsure of what had just happened. One minute, he was falling through the air, and the next he was landing in s pile of refuse in some alley that he didn't quite recognize. Faintly he heard the wail of sirens, so he was certain he was still in Central, but he certainly wasn't anywhere near the lab - or his brother.

There was movement off to his right, and Alphonse scrambled to get to his feet as the man in black rose from the garbage, brushing off the black jacket as he stepped clear of the trash. Alphonse struggled to get out of the tangle as the man began to walk away, and hurriedly scratched an alchemical circle into the street below him. He activated it and the brick walls of the buildings on either side quickly swarmed out to meld together and block the killer from escaping. The only way out now was past Alphonse, and the man seemed reluctant to even approach the younger Elric.

Alphonse set his feet and assumed his stance. "I really don't want to fight you. Just come quietly."

The man just looked at him from under that black hood. His shoulders rose and fell again, but other than that he didn't move. They stood there, facing off, and Alphonse wasn't sure if help was coming because he didn't even know where in Central he was. In the back of his mind, a little voice told him that he should just run, but like all the times before, he stood his ground. Had to stand his ground, because if he ran, the killer would get away and there would probably never be another chance to catch him. He could go to ground until the military could no longer afford to protect the people that were left, or he could begin to hunt in a new place in order to divert attention and manpower somewhere else.

The man started forward and reached for Alphonse. Despite himself, Alphonse flinched. The man patted his shoulder and then stepped past him, heading out of the alley. Alphonse stood frozen for a moment, then he whirled around and stared at the stranger's retreating back. He gave chase, following the man out of the alley and into a side street that he didn't recognize. He saw the man in black pause halfway up the street and tense. Alphonse started toward him.

There was someone else there, someone Alphonse couldn't see well. They were in the shadows, but the silhouette looked like a woman's. The man in black didn't see Alphonse approaching, but the woman did. She must've said something to him, because the man half turned to look at Alphonse, and every line of his body tensed. Alphonse didn't know what to make of it.

The woman raised her hand. Even in the dim light Alphonse could make out an alchemical circle carved into the palm of her hand. Before he could react and run for cover, alchemical light sparked around her arm and Alphonse saw a piece of the street transmute itself into a boulder. The boulder then shattered into its base elements and the alchemy changed ordinary rock into what looked like metal. Alphonse managed to cover his face with his arms before those pellets began firing at him, tearing into his armor. He was flung backward, pieces of him telling the tale of where he'd been standing and where he'd ended up. Because he had no body there was no physical pain, but the emotional pain was there because Ed didn't know where he was and wouldn't get to him in time to save him.

He hit the ground and his helmet bounced off, rolling a little ways away from his body. His mind was racing - What kind of alchemy was that? - and he could see pieces of himself littering the street and silently apologized to his brother. Then he looked back toward the man in black and the woman.

The man was holding onto the woman's wrist with a grip that obviously hurt, if Alphonse judged her expression right. It looked as if her wrist was being crushed. The man's other hand was locked around her throat, crushing her windpipe so she couldn't scream. She still tried, writhing against the man's hold as he spoke to her. Alphonse watched the man in black throw the woman to the ground, watched her scramble to her feet.

"Olivier will make you pay for this!" The woman screeched.

If the man responded, Alphonse didn't hear it. But the woman paled and bolted down the alley, leaving only the man in black and Alphonse. The man turned tore hard Alphonse, and Alphonse saw the man's body shift and relax in a way that Alphonse recognized on some subconscious level but couldn't quite place. He tensed as the man approached him, picking up pieces of armor as he went. He piled the pieces on top of Alphonse's torso, then picked up Alphonse's head.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Alphonse asked. The man just looked into his eyes and said nothing. Alphonse was shocked. Usually people who didn't know he was just a hollow suit of armor freaked out when they realized the armor was empty, save for a blood circle and a disembodied voice. But this man, not only did he not freak out, but he was acting like it was perfectly normal to be holding a talking armor that had no one inside it. He gently set Alphonse's head onto the pile of armor scraps and then pulled a piece of chalk from his pants pocket.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Alphonse asked in a panic. The man was drawing an alchemical circle around Alphonse, one that Alphonse recognized. It was the same kind of circle Edward drew when he was putting Alphonse back together. Ed had only done it a handful of times but Alphonse could recognize it well enough. Again, the man didn't answer him, only kept drawing that circle until it was complete. It couldn't have taken him more than five minutes to draw the intricate circle, less time than it took Ed to complete the circle.

As soon as it was finished, and the man scrutinized his work. Seemingly satisfied, he stepped behind Alphonse where the boy couldn't see him, and then Alphonse was blinded by alchemical light. His thoughts stopped entirely as he felt the alchemy take hold of him, felt the pieces of his body melding slowly together. It was a process he'd undergone only a few times, but he recognized the feel of the alchemy coursing through him. It seemed familiar somehow.

Soon the light faded and Alphonse found himself whole again. He spun to look for the man in black, but he was alone in that alley, standing inside the alchemical circle. Alphonse shivered, thoughts flashing a mile a minute. _Who are you? Who are you that you know my brother's alchemy so well? _There was one explanation that Alphonse could think of, but he didn't want to say it out loud, if only because it might confirm an impossible truth.

So he decided to keep the encounter a secret, at least until he had more evidence. Because if what he thought was true, then they were becoming embroiled in something that would shake them to the very core, and question everything they'd learned so far.


	8. Chapter 8

Eight

Edward kept sneaking glances at Alphonse when his brother wasn't looking. The two of them had reunited soon after Alphonse and the killer had vanished from the scene and Ed had the sneaking suspicion his brother knew something he didn't. And that something wasn't anything Alphonse was going to share with him any time soon. Alphonse hadn't said much about his personal encounter with the man in black, only that he was a capable fighter and a brilliant alchemist. Ed knew both those things already, but he was certain that the something Alphonse wasn't telling him had to do with what happened between the time he and the killer vanished and when Alphonse rejoined them.

Both were attending the debriefing of Rhys Houck, the intended victim and now only known survivor of an encounter with the killer. Alphonse had kept quiet for the most part, just listening to Rhys as he explained what had happened and then profusely thanked the Elric brothers for saving him when they did. Mallory was there, as well as a few of Mallory's superiors, and Ed knew they were all there to make sure Rhys didn't say more than what he was allowed about the translocation alchemy project. And as much as Ed listened, he couldn't figure out why the killer would be going after Rhys, since the man was only dealing with the alchemy meant for stabilization, rather than the alchemy meant for the actual translocation.

"He must've come down from the roof," Rhys was saying, "because no one saw him on the lower floors. And he seemed to know exactly where I was."

Mallory looked at his superiors and then scratched a few notes on the pad of paper by his elbow. "Well, you don't have to worry about him now. You'll be taken to a secure location and well-protected."

Rhys grinned, but Ed saw fear in his eyes. If the killer could get to him in a secure building like the one he'd worked in, then the killer could definitely find a way into the "secure location" and finish the job he'd tried to start.

When the superiors led Rhys from the room, Mallory looked toward Alphonse. "I don't suppose you saw his face?"

Alphonse shook his head. "No. It was too dark. But I don't think he's working alone, or killing willingly."

Both Ed and Mallory raised an eyebrow as they regarded Alphonse. Edward moved toward his little brother and placed his hand on his shoulder. "What do you mean, Al?" Ed asked, trying not to let his voice sound either too angry or too condescending. If he did that, Alphonse probably would never answer until he was confident he could back up his story.

"When I followed him into the alley, he was meeting with some woman." Alphonse replied, his fingers twining together and clenching tight. "I couldn't see much of her, but I heard her talking to the killer. She said something about this Olivier person making him pay."

"It could be this Olivier his paying the killer to do this." Mallory reasoned. "Take out any competition."

Alphonse shook his head. "No, I don't think that's it. Ed, you saw it. Not once did he try to kill us. He didn't want to hurt us. And when it was just me and him, all he did was try to escape. He didn't once try to hurt me, either physically or with alchemy. Ed, I don't think he wants to do this. I think he's being forced to do it."

Ed blinked at his little brother. Alphonse wasn't one to say things idly. He was honest, and if he believed what he was saying, then Ed wondered at the validity of his words. Before the elder Elric could say anything, Mallory snorted and slapped closed the file he had been taking notes in. Both brothers looked at him in askance.

Mallory snorted again. "Do you really think anyone would kill innocent people willingly? No, he wants to do this, why I don't know and intend to find out. He's killing in my city, and I don't intend to let him live long enough to regret it."

Ed frowned. "But if he is doing this against his will, shouldn't we catch him and then get him to help us catch whoever's putting him up to this?"

"Once we catch him and make him pay for what he's done, then we can wring out of him the name of the bastard putting him up to this." Mallory looked at Alphonse. "He spared you for a reason, I'm sure. So you should be able build a rapport with him. If we can find him, anyway. And when we do, you can convince him to come with you."

"Bold plan." Ed said dryly. "But it doesn't work if we don't know where he is. And I won't let you use my brother as bait."

Mallory just looked at Ed. The rotund lieutenant's face mottled a little bit, but then he seemed to get his emotions under control. Finally the lieutenant rose from his chair and stalked out of the room, leaving the Elric brothers alone.

For a while, Edward and Alphonse sat in silence. Both were lost in their own thoughts about the situation, and for a while they kept their thoughts to themselves. Finally, though, Alphonse looked at Edward and said, "Brother, I don't think we can do this by ourselves. If it was anyone else we were trying to capture, I think we'd be okay, but this guy... There's something about him that scares me."

Edward looked at Alphonse and frowned. "Do you think we're getting in over our heads?"

Alphonse shrugged. "I don't know, Ed. I only know what I saw. He... he protected me, brother. That woman tried to kill me, and he protected me."

There it was, the hesitation in Alphonse's voice. There was something else that happened to Alphonse, between him and the killer, and he still wasn't telling Edward what it was. So Ed forced his little brother to look him in the eyes, and asked, "What happened out there, Al? When you two were falling, you just vanished into thin air. And then you showed up on the other side of Central." He took a deep breath. "What happened to you?"

Alphonse hesitated. Then, softly, he said, "It's hard to explain."

"Try me."

Alphonse looked up at Edward and then away. The silence grew until it felt as thick and as smothering as smoke. Then Alphonse sighed. "He put me back together."

"What?"

Alphonse looked at Ed. "When we appeared in that alley, he tried to leave and I stopped him. He never hurt me. He just tried to get away from me. And then that lady appeared, after I chased him into another alley. And when she saw me, she attacked me with some kind of alchemy that created stone bullets and tore my armor apart." Alphonse shivered at the memory, though he hadn't felt any pain. He took a deep breath. "She had an alchemy circle carved into her hand, brother. The killer saw it and managed to deflect the worst of it from me, and then he turned on her. It looked like he was going to kill her for what she did to me, but he let her go. And then he fixed me. He drew the same circle you do, and he fixed me."

Edward stared at Alphonse, trying to comprehend what his little brother was saying. There was no one in the world who could put Alphonse back together except for Edward. That was because Ed had drawn the blood circle on the inside of the armor, anchoring Alphonse's spirit to the mortal plane and to the armor. Only Ed knew how to use the alchemical formula contained in that blood circle to put Alphonse back together without irreparably harming his soul. So how could a stranger, someone neither of them had met or interacted with beyond recent events, access that alchemy to do what he did?

Finally Ed swallowed. "You don't suppose..."

"I don't know, and I'm scared."

Edward rubbed his face and looked toward the door, wondering if anyone was on the other side listening. Then he looked at Alphonse, and the younger Elric nodded. They wouldn't discuss anything here, where anyone could eavesdrop, but as soon as they were alone, they'd begin bouncing theories off each other.

But judging by the look on Edward's face, Alphonse knew that his brother was thinking the same thing he was. Someone was trying to kill people working on this translocation alchemy project, and the reason why was starting to seem clear, if a little crazy. Someone was trying to kill the project, because that someone had already succeeded where this project hadn't yet, and it was a good bet that the killer was the result of that success.

Edward looked at Alphonse. "I'm going to call Mustang. If this is really what's happening," he didn't elaborate and Alphonse was grateful for that, "then we're going to need him."

"I think so." Alphonse agreed.

The Elric brothers left the interrogation room then and made their way out of the building. For all intents and purposes, they made it seem as if they were just going back to their room that had been provided for them in the closest hotel, but as soon as they got there, Ed made his way to the closest phone and dialed Eastern HQ.

"Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric," Ed said when the lady on the other end asked who he was. "I'd like to speak to Colonel Roy Mustang. Please." He tacked on at the end, knowing that him asking 'please' would get Roy's attention.

It wasn't long before there was a deep voice on the other end of the line. Ed smiled grimly. "Roy. We need your help."


	9. Chapter 9

Nine

He landed on his feet but stumbled backwards as the world spun. He clutched at something solid - it felt like brick - that wasn't moving and closed his eye until the world stopped spinning. _Well, at least he wasn't lying about that part. _He opened his eye and stared around at the tall buildings he remembered but knew weren't his. Everything looked the same, even though he knew it wasn't. At least he'd ended up in the right place, but there was no way to get word back to tell his subordinates - or Winry - that he was safe, whole, and on the right trail now. His quarry had days on him; it was possible that he wasn't even in Central anymore. But before he moved on, he would have to make sure.

Because if he didn't find Edward here, Roy wasn't sure what he'd do. He couldn't return home empty-handed, because that would feel like failure, and he'd refused long ago not to fail anymore.

Righting himself, Roy Mustang straightened his clothes, pulled his brown leather duster tighter around him and made sure the hat he wore covered most of his face. Even if someone saw him and thought they recognized him, the eyepatch he wore would hopefully deter the person long enough for him to escape. The warning that Ed had left him with, along with the alchemy notes and a small selfish letter, had warned him that letting people know who he was might backfire, especially if he ended up somewhere where his name was well-known.

A deep sigh left his lungs, and the Flame Alchemist took a step forward and emerged into the crowds and streets of Central.

oooo

Edward and Alphonse found themselves waiting impatiently at the Central train station, watching for the eastern train that would be carrying Roy. After Ed had explained the situation to his superior officer, Roy had taken the first train out of Eastern Area that he could. It still would take him a few days to reach Central, no matter how fast the train moved. So Ed and Al had filled that time by pouring over the files they were allowed to read again, trying to find something, anything, that would allow them to locate if not capture the killer.

The killer, too, was a subject of conversation the brothers broached only when they were certain they were alone. They talked about the mysterious woman, the name Olivier, and they looked for things that didn't make sense, whether it was a building leased by a strange name or an apartment bought by Alfons Heiderich or even Olivier. As predicted, they found nothing. If they asked Mallory if they could talk to Rhys or any of the surviving project members, they were sternly, and politely, told to mind their own business and focus on finding the killer.

So when the day arrived that Roy would arrive, the boys made their way to the station to wait. It was all they could really do, since they'd exhausted all the materials they had at their disposal and nothing new was cropping up. Alphonse had even walked the streets of Central at night, hoping maybe the killer would come to him, even at a distance. But he never did, and so the Elric brothers were at a complete and total loss as to what to do with this case.

Thus Roy.

While Roy was more than happy to delegate missions and assignments out to Edward because he was Ed's direct superior, he wasn't one to ignore a plea for help, especially if it came from the Elrics, because Ed and Al wouldn't ask for help unless they truly needed it. The boys were fiercely independent and didn't respond well to people trying to help before it was needed.

The train wheezed into the station, steam hissing out as it came to a rest. The conductors opened the doors to let out the flood of people that traveled to Central every day, whether it was to work, to shop, or to visit friends and family. Ed stood on a bench to be able to see over the crowd while Alphonse sat beside him, hands clasped, watching the faces of people as they passed by. Then Ed lifted an arm and waved.

Alphonse looked up to see Roy Mustang striding toward them, a long coat over his navy blue uniform. He looked impeccable as always, tall and imposing with black hair and black eyes. His expression could be mistaken for a scowl, but the Elrics knew better. He wasn't happy, but he wasn't mad at them.

"Fullmetal, Alphonse." Roy greeted the boys.

"Colonel." Alphonse returned politely.

"Thanks for coming, Mustang." Ed said as he jumped from the bench to the ground. Alphonse sighed. His brother couldn't ever really be polite toward Roy, heaven knew why. But they worked well together, so Alphonse only lightly admonished his older brother. Ed shrugged. "There hasn't been any new developments. Mallory and his superiors won't let us talk to the survivors of the project, so there's no way we can at least try to bait the killer into attacking them. So, we're stuck."

Roy listened quietly, a frown creasing his brow as his mind followed Ed's line of thought and reasoning. Finally he regarded both Elrics and said, "I doubt there's much I can do regarding the survivors, but I can throw my weight around as far as Lieutenant Mallory is concerned. This is my case after all; you two were just working it for me."

Ed shrugged again. "The point is, Mustang, we can't catch the bastard because he's gone to ground. The people pulling his strings were never in the light to begin with. On top of that, there's something weird about the killer."

"How so?"

Alphonse described his encounter again, not leaving out any little detail no matter how insignificant it might be. Alchemists didn't think like normal people; their minds made leaps and bounds and scientific jumps that a non-alchemist couldn't understand. Even Alphonse, who was a master alchemist himself, knew that his brother and Mustang thought on a different level than he did, and hopefully between the two of them, they might had able to figure out why the killer not only spared Alphonse, but was able to heal him. Because, right now, both Elrics wanted a different explanation than the theory they had already. "And we haven't seen him since." Alphonse finished.

Roy rubbed his chin. "There are plenty of places in Central someone who didn't want to be found could hide. The police and military personnel rarely go there, and from what I understand, there's an agreement between the police and the underground. They don't bother each other, and nothing particularly damaging to either side happens."

"So we need to give the killer an incentive to come to us." Ed reasoned.

"Easier said than done." Roy replied. He gestured for the brothers to walk with him. As they left the platform, Roy continued, "The killer isn't stupid, if I understand your story correctly. Beyond that, he'd definitely know anything regarding his prey is something to be wary about. He may be anticipating a trap. Right now, it's in his best interest to lay low and hope the brass relents enough to let the survivors begin to work again."

"Because if they start to work again, he'll be able to find out where they are." Alphonse reasoned.

Ed made a noise. "Because being the skilled alchemist he is, it'd be cake to find out where certain supplies are going. And since he's targeting these people, this project, specifically, he'd know exactly what supplies to look for."

"He wouldn't necessarily need to break into a military installation either," Roy agreed. "He could just as easily look at train manifests and narrow things down until he's successful."

Alphonse shook his head. "It seems so complicated. For someone to go through that much trouble just to kill someone... They must be doing it for a reason."

"Whatever the reason," Roy said, "it's clear he doesn't want to involve innocent people more than he has to. As for what he did for you, Alphonse, I'd say you and he have some connection somehow."

It was a hedge, a way of confirming what the brothers thought but didn't want to say. Ed rubbed the back of his neck. If what their theory was was true, then the people on the project would have a lot of explaining to do, especially if they wanted to keep Ed from nosing around. And knowing how the military was with secrets, Ed wasn't sure he'd like the price that would have to be paid for that knowledge. Equivalent exchange didn't just apply to alchemy, and the military was loathe to give up secrets for free.

"So what should we do?" Ed asked finally.

"We'll have to catch him. And to do that, we'll need a trap." Roy said. "But first, let's see if I can get any more answers out of the people you're dealing with. The more information we have, the better."

The three of them finally made their way into the precinct building. Not one of them realized they were being watched.

Ed and Alphonse hung back as Roy made himself into a one-man army. Most of the military personnel who worked here barely knew how to handle someone like Roy, since they didn't deal much with State Alchemists who were also Colonels. Even Mallory, when he saw Roy, looked at a loss of what to do. Then his eyes fell on the Elric brothers, and his face reddened as his lips twisted into a severe frown.

"Looks like we're in trouble, brother." Alphonse says quietly.

Ed made a soft noise but didn't really respond. He watched Mallory, aware the man was taking note of everything and would no doubt report this to his superiors. Of course, there really wasn't anything they could do about it, since Roy was the one who was supposed to be working on solving this case anyway.

Finally, after a few hours had gone by, the Elrics and Mustang found themselves in a large meeting room surrounded by papers and boxes and Mallory, who continuously wrung his hands and stared at Roy like the Colonel was going to snap his fingers at any moment and fry him to a crisp. Ed could tell by Roy's expression that he was seeing the same things Ed and Alphonse had. He kept quiet for a long while, pouring over the papers with an intensity that seemed off for the man who normally hated paperwork. Finally, Roy put the papers down in s neat pile and looked at the Elric brothers.

"It looks like the only way to lure out this killer is to take the project survivors and put them back into danger." Roy said.

Mallory spluttered. "You can't do that! They're too important to Amestris to use for bait!"

Roy looked at him with an arched brow. "Then how do you propose we catch the killer? He's after these few remaining men and women for a reason, and that reason has to do with this translocation alchemy. Someone doesn't want us learning the alchemy, or perfecting it. That someone has sent a highly dangerous assassin after these people, an assassin who knows alchemy just as well as a State Alchemist, if not better. Whatever the reason for this is, we won't get any answers until we have one party in our custody."

"But you're suggesting using people as bait." Mallory protested.

"No, not the people themselves," Ed said, "but the idea of them."

Mallory looked at the elder Elric, confused. "What do you mean?"

Ed waved a hand. "Our killer has gone to ground, and if he's smart, which I don't doubt he is, he'll wait until the military's become complacent and secure in themselves again. Eventually, those people are going to want to go home. They're going to want to see their families. All he has to do is wait until they're released back into the public to go back to hunting them. But if we say they're back working on the project in a certain location, we might be able to gamble on the killer's need to get his assignment done."

Now Mallory seemed to understand.

Roy added, "If we do this, then we have to pick a place that seems like it would be safe and secure - to add to the illusion that the alchemists are there working - and a place that we could easily set up in our favor to capture our killer. We would have to have a sufficient guard to make it look like his targets are there, plus a supply shipment. If we gamble correctly, he won't be able to resist the bait."

"And between me, Mustang, and Al, we should have no problem catching him." Ed said. "He's a good alchemist, but I don't think even he could fight off three of us at once."

Mallory mulled over the plan for a long while, searching all of their faces. Even Colonel Mustang seemed to trust this plan, and Mallory wondered if the rumors and other things he'd heard about the young Colonel were true. Finally, he said, "I'll have to pitch it to my superiors. They're very adamant that this gets solved."

"Unless you want to wait years and handle increasingly angry alchemists, this is the only way." Ed said blandly.

Mallory nodded. "I'll do my best to convince them."


	10. Chapter 10

Ten

The warehouse that had been picked as the trap location was far enough out of Central to seem like a secret, safe place. The walls were sturdy concrete, the second story landing seemed to be a perfect vantage point for the experiments supposedly going on below, and there were no windows through which anything could be seen. There were only two ways in - the main door, which would have a constant patrol of officers, and the roof door, which was purposefully left unlocked. There, Roy had set an ashtray and the remains of cigarettes, making it seem as if the only smoker in the small group of survivors snuck up there every now and then to smoke and take a moment for himself.

Inside, Ed and Al busied themselves setting up alchemical experiments. Or what looked to be experiments. In reality, they were traps that Alphonse would be able to activate with a touch in hopes one of them would trap the killer. Ed and Roy would be engaged in combat with the killer, if he chose to show up, and the two of them would try to either capture him themselves or drive him toward one of the traps.

It hadn't taken long to get permission from the higher ups to put the plan into motion. Everyone on the case had their part to play, including Mallory. The rotund Lieutenant had given a press conference in hopes that the killer might hear or see it. He claimed the alchemy killings had stopped for good and that life for the survivors was continuing on as normal. They would return to their work for the good of Amestris and he assured the public they had nothing more to fear from the killer. He hadn't given a location for the warehouse nor had he said anything about the survivors being moved. He'd let the crowd assume what they wanted to assume.

Ed put the finishing touches to the last alchemy circle and joined Roy and Alphonse by the front of the warehouse, where a good thirty or so blue-uniformed soldiers stood, watching the two State Alchemists and the suit of armor apprehensively.

"As you know," Roy said, his deep voice booming forth, "this is a trap set up to capture the Alchemy Killer. If you see anyone suspicious, do not engage him. Let him come in uncontested. The three of us will be in here, waiting for him. Remember, he's a skilled alchemist, and he'll be coming to finish his job. No matter what you see or hear, under no circumstances are you to enter this building. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The group chorused and smartly saluted Roy.

"You're dismissed to your assigned positions."

As the group filed out of the building, Edward looked up at Roy. "If we gambled correctly, do you think we'll come out of this victorious?"

Roy eyed both Elric brothers. He knew the gravity of the question Ed had asked better than anyone. He took a deep breath. "If we gambled correctly, I think we have a chance. Whether we're victorious or not depends greatly on our ability to counter him. And if you're right, if he does have a Philosopher's Stone, then we might have our work cut out for us."

Edward nodded, and then he followed the Colonel back into the main room of the warehouse to finish setting things up.

Alphonse watched them both, wondering just one more time about the killer and the man's intentions. If he fell for the trap, they'd get the answers they wanted, but if he didn't, they'd all look like fools. He, for one, hoped the man showed up, because Alphonse wanted to ask him so many things. The least of which was why the man seemed to care so much about him.

oooo

Edward Elric stood alone in a dark room, hearing scratches along the invisible walls. He knew the sounds were meant to scare him but the nineteen year old wasn't scared by most things anymore. There really was only one fear that Edward had right now, and that was losing Alphonse.

After the incident in the alley - which he was still worrying over - Olivier had summoned him to the building the man had claimed for the Académie. It was a nondescript, plain brick building that looked like it might have been a factory at one point it its life. How long it has stood empty, forgotten on the outskirts of Central he didn't know, but Olivier seemed to have been drawn to it like it was a lodestone. Ed briefly toyed with the idea that the building reminded Olivier of something back home, but he knew that the director of the Académie loved nothing but himself and his own ambition.

"How long are you going to make me wait, Olivier?" Edward called into the darkness. He put a hint of annoyance and boredom in the words. Better to sound like he didn't care about being summoned like some misbehaving student than to reveal how nervous he actually was.

The darkness lasted for a few more heartbeats before a light flickered on. The cold illumination filled a small space of the walkway above him. Standing there, impeccably dressed in a tailored white suit was the man who had started all this, the man who has ruined Ed's life and was still holding his brother hostage. Ed's eyes flicked to the three forms accompanying Olivier and recognized two as the man's bodyguards. The third shape made his throat go dry and his heart nearly stop beating.

Alphonse, at eighteen years old, still stood taller than his older brother. His blonde hair was still a shade darker than Ed's, and still kept neatly short. His golden eyes were focused on his brother, revealing nothing as to his state of well-being or what he thought about his brother's actions on his behalf. Ed didn't doubt that Olivier had told Alphonse exactly was Edward was doing to ensure his safety, and he wasn't sure if he could continue to live with his ever growing closet of demons if Alphonse turned away from him now.

Then Alphonse smiled slightly, and gave the barest of nods to his brother. Ed let go of the breath he'd been holding as slowly as he could, not wanting the bastard to see how much he'd been affected by seeing Alphonse.

"Thank you for coming so quickly, Mr. Elric," Olivier said, his slightly accented, cultured voice rolling off his tongue like poisoned honey, "I've been anxiously awaiting your report about a certain... incident."

Ed shrugged. "What's to tell? Your bitch got trigger happy. If she'd just left it alone like I told her to, I wouldn't be forced to delay my search in order to play the blame game with you."

Olivier stared at him. A feral light crept into the man's eyes. "You interacted with your other self, and his little brother. That's no small thing to sniff at."

"I didn't talk to them or reveal anything. For all they know, I've got a Philosopher's Stone. It's nothing to worry about."

"Ah, but your actions allowed them to hide the rest of the prey. Now it may be months before they come out of their den."

Ed did his best not to shiver. He didn't like that Olivier thought of people as prey or material. He also didn't look at Alphonse, who looked like he was going to be sick. Ed shrugged again. "It was bound to happen sooner or later. I told you to let me work at my own pace, but you didn't like that idea. This is the consequence."

"And you'll have to deal with it." Olivier replied. He gestured to Alphonse. "Or at least your brother will, since we need you whole and healthy to complete the task assigned you."

Ed clenched his fists. "If you hurt him in any way, I swear nothing will stop me from killing you."

Olivier, damn him, laughed. He patted Alphonse's head like the boy was much shorter than he was. Or like a pet. After a second of laughter, the man sobered. "Attack me, and I'll kill him." His hand wrapped tight around Alphonse's throat. "And I'll make it painful and agonizing and he'll die knowing his older brother can't do anything to save him."

Ed shrugged like he didn't much care. "If he dies, there's nothing stopping me from coming after you."

Olivier's hand immediately released Al's throat. _Good,_ Ed thought, _the bastard believes that, at least. _Olivier studied the older Elric for a long moment. He regained his composure and stood a little straighter. "Have you been listening to the radio, Edward?"

"No."

Olivier smiled. "Shame. Then let me inform you that your prey has indeed come out of their den. In fact, they're so confident that you are no longer hunting them that they've resumed their little project. I want you to stop them. Kill them all in one fell swoop and I'll give you your precious baby brother back. I'll even let the two of you go home."

Edward didn't believe him for a second. Olivier knew how powerful his alchemy was, and an alchemist of Ed's skill and caliber - a State Alchemist - was useful, especially when that alchemist had been born and raised in Amestris. The Fullmetal Alchemist was someone who could achieve Olivier's wildest dreams and they both knew it.

"So are you going to tell me where they are, or do I have to go hunting?" Ed asked without much feeling.

Olivier smiled. "What's the fun of the hunt of I do everything for you?"

"I thought you were pressed for time. Since I'm obviously mistaken, I'll go hunting in my own." Ed turned on his heel and started to walk away. He hated turning his back on Olivier, hated turning his back on his little brother, but he had to do it. It was for Al's safety as much as his own.

"Now, now, Fullmetal." Olivier chortled. "I would never let you go without a clue. I am a gentleman after all. Your wise military has moved the prey to a laboratory outside of the city. A short drive, or jump, in your case. I'm sure security will be tight, but I believe in you."

Edward half turned and looked up at Olivier. Then he shifted his eyes to Alphonse. His little brother had a look of grim determination and he gave Ed a short, imperceptible nod. Edward nodded back, then left the room.

Olivier turned his attention to Alphonse. "I do hope your brother succeeds. For your sake. I'd hate to have to hurt you again just to get him to behave himself."

Alphonse allowed himself to smile. "My brother means what he says."

Later, when Alphonse was again in his lonely little cell, he allowed himself to cry. He didn't know if it was in relief or something else, but he was glad that the things Ed had been forced to do - was still being forced to do - hadn't broken him. Ed would always live with these demons, with innocent blood on his hands. Alphonse, too, would have to live with the knowledge that these people died because of him, because in order to ensure his safety, Ed had to end them. After a moment, Alphonse dried his tears with his sleeve and shifted positions. He pulled up the mat that served as his bed, picked up the sharp shard of rock he'd broken off one of the bricks that made up the walls, and began to work on the alchemy circle that would hopefully allow him to escape.


End file.
